The Serra da Mantiqueira is one
of the most important mountain ranges in southeastern Brazil. A
large part of its territory is legally protected by Law No. 91.304/86,
which resulted in the implementation of the APA. Article 20 of
this law states that the APA, “in addition to guaranteeing preservation
of the landscape and regional culture, has the objective of protecting
and preserving:

a) part of one of the largest mountain ranges in
southwestern Brazilb) endemic and Andean florac) the remaining
areas of Araucária forestd) the continuity of vegetation of the
central ridge and of the areas with primitive vegetatione) wildlife,
especially species threatened with extinction.”

The elaboration of
instruments such as a management plan is necessary for achieving
the effective implementation of a conservation area. The
“Ecological Development Project for the Itatiaia Forest”, created in
1988, was the first initiative of this type, but unfortunately, it did
not obtain the necessary resources to implement it. Later, in
1991, the Defense Front of Mantiqueira (FEDAPAM) published the
Mantiqueira Report, in which the necessity for designing and
implementing the APA zone was highlighted. However, 15 years after
the implantation of the APA, neither a management plan nor the
corresponding zoning layout has been done.

Looking to reverse the process
of degradation in the Mantiqueira APA, the NGOs Crescente Fértil,
Fundação Matutu, Instituto Ideas, Partnershaft Mirantao, Instituto
Brasil de Educação Ambiental, Centros Comunitários de Colina e Campo
Redondo, SOS Mata Atlântica, and Fundação Luterana de Diaconia, among
others, have been working together since 1999 to implement a series of
projects on ecological development. these projects,
articulated among each other, form the Mantiqueira Program.

Geographic
Area

The APA is located between the
three largest cities in Brazil – Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belo
Horizonte – encompassing an area that equals close to 400,000
hectares. This area contains original forested areas that are
interconnected. It is also one of the conservation areas that make
up the southern corridor of the Mata Atlântica, where several contiguous
areas of original forest of this biome are concentrated. The
Itatiaia National Park (PNI)), located in the southern part of the APA
and established in 1937, was the first national park created in
Brazil. Encompassing an area of nearly 30,000 hectares, the Park
represents an important matrix of rare and endemic species.

In Rio de Janeiro, the
municipalities that make up the APA represent high indices of
urbanization and a diversified economy with a significant presence of
industries. The southern region of Minas is characterized by a
predominantly rural condition, with a poorly diversified economy and a
relatively low standard of income.

Several different cultures
coexist in the APA, such as: descendants of Puri and Botocudo Indians,
European immigrants (especially Germans), traditional Catholics from
Minas Gerais, urban citizens searching for an alternative to the
conventional consumerist way of life, spiritual groups and tourism
entrepreneurs. Its natural and cultural heritage is notable, even
despite of the process of degradation that is taking place, exhibiting
peculiarities that are becoming more and more rare in the regional
context of southeastern Brazil.